Overlooking the San Diego Bay ...

[GB1]

Took a few night photos from Coronado last night Here's a 5-image HDR here. Definitely flattened it a bit, but such are HDRs.

G

[hminx]

Great composition but I think a bit of unsharpmask would do this the world of good.

[llewpics]

I would take a bit off the bottom and make it more of a landscape format ...otherwise, it looks like very nice BW shot ...

[Chris350]

I agree, crop a bit off the foreground, possibly a small bit off the top as well.. Also I don't see a true black value anywhere. So it seems that a portion of the tonal range is missing.

[Chris350]

K so I edited the image for better blacks but had to jump through too many hoops to get it back this thread. So basically all I did was push the Black Level slider in Lightroom. It enhanced the wood detail and helped clarify the lettering on the telescope. I ended up not cropping. I wouls actually add back the sides as they appear to have been cropped off then reevaluate the forgeround and top.

[Adamo]

I don't normally like HDR's, but this one seems to work for me. I like the B&W. I think cropping it would look weird because the telescope would be too large. I do agree pushing the blacks would bring ouit the detail, I would like to see it. I'm biased though because its San Diego.

[armando_m]

Greg,
This is a great view, I like that you included the foreground elements, rather than making it just a night view of the city typical of a post card.

As mentioned increase the level of blacks a bit, another bit of sharpening and it'll be better

My results with HDR have improved a lot by working on reducing movement between shots, I try to use a remote control and mirror up shooting, and of course a tripod. I'm usually reluctant to carry a tripod, but if know I'll want to do an HDR the difference in quality is enough to make me want to carry it.

[GB1]

Ok fellows, good advice: here's the adjusted version.

I didn't crop it here, but you can play with it to see the way it would look. I personally feel that the bottom is much more important than the sky, as it adds dimensionality, whereas there's nothing up there in the sky. Maybe some text up there, like for an advertisement?

llewpics, Chris, this was shot in vert format. I took a tad off the sides but nothing significant (I think there was some bright light on the right side).

Adamo, we need a southern-Cali shoot where we can all meet up.

Armando, thanks for the tips. I have been getting more softness in my HDRs than I'd like. I think part of my problem is that I don't typically use my electronic cable release as it's a pain to walk around when it hangs down. I always shoot w/ tripod with HDRs, not sure how you couldn't? (maybe just lying the camera on a ledge would work though) Anyway, it needs my attention to see what the heck I can do to make them sharper.

Thanks too hminx.

[ksbryan0]

Really nice job on this, Greg. The foreground elements make the composition and the edit offers good improvement over the original. Some selective darkening of the hot spots on the telescope may be beneficial, as it might be too much of an attention grabber as it is.

[baldemort]

Nice interesting shot and well executed HDR. Love the texture and grain of the wood which pulls the eye in nicely and the way the telescope points to the building. Nice work.

[Greg McCary]

I like it but think you should reprocess it and get rid of the haloing. You are also losing a little detail on the top of the scope. Well seen and composed.

[Herriot]

I would agree with Greg, it's a great shot but the haloing is distracting, I think the second post helps a great deal.

[GB1]

Ok guys, I tried another version. I attempted to tone down the highlights on the binocular thingie and to remove the haloing above it and the building.. I think I was at least partially successful, but removing the haloing and still making it look natural was a little tougher than I hoped.

Really great response here. I knew there were a few issues, but it's hard to know how important they really are w/o feedback. Mentioning the crop: It can probably lose a little off the top, but I left it on for evaluation.

Thanks again

GB

[Greg McCary]

GB its a totally different picture, nice work fixing it.

[Chris350]

Great work on the reprocess.

[ksbryan0]

Ready for mat & frame! Nice job!

[armando_m]

Way nicer ! Good job getting rid of the halos and intense highlights, and nice contrast

About the remote , I got a wireless version , there is a cable that goes from the camera to the receiver which in turn can be fixed to the flash hot shoe, a bit bulky but at least not a dangling cable, really wish the D300 had the IR remote as the D90, D7000 or the D40, I really don't need the 100ft reach of the radio remote

[Adamo]

Great edits! I really like this shot now